Guitarist Doug MacDonald is definitely keeping himself busy this year. The well-known and respected musician/composer is scheduled to release his third (yes, third) record of the year Friday in the form of Serenade to Highland Park. As with the other two records that he has released this year – Live in Hawaii and Toluca Lake Jazz – this latest offering will release through MacDonald’s own label, DMAC Music/Doug MacDonald Music. That is all that it has in common with its counterparts. The music that makes up the record’s body stands out because for the most part, the songs are covers of more well-known works. MacDonald even points this out in the record’s brief liner notes. There are two originals from MacDonald featured as part of the record’s body alongside those covers, and each is well worth examining in its own right. Among the most notable of the covers featured in this record is that of Irving Berlin’s timeless classic, ‘They Say It’s Wonderful.’ This song will also be discussed as part of the record’s examination. When it and the record’s two original songs are considered together with the rest of the featured works, the whole makes the record another fun new offering from Doug MacDonald that his fans and more casual jazz fans alike will appreciate.
Doug MacDonald’s forthcoming covers collection, Serenade to Highland Park, is an enjoyable new offering from the veteran jazz guitarist/composer. It is a work that MacDonald’s established audiences will find just as appealing as any casual jazz fan. That is proven in part through the record’s two originals, one of which is the record’s title track. The song is a light, enjoyable composition, led by MacDonald’s work on guitar. Drummer Paul Kreibich’s gentle brush work on the snare and equally soft time keeping on the hi hat pairs with MacDonald’s simple guitar arrangement to make the song even richer. The addition of Mike Flick’s even more subtle bass line to the mix adds even more to the arrangement’s appeal. That is because it is such a barely there performance in his part. It is just audible enough that audiences can hear its subtle approach. Flick and Kreibich’s collective rhythm section make for such a nice compliment to MacDonald’s performance on guitar. The whole of the musicians’ work gives the song overall a great modern jazz feel along with such a rich, slow dance stylistic approach. It is certain to fully engage and entertain any listener noted here. Much the same can be said of ‘Hortense,’ MacDonald’s other original composition featured in this record.
Hortense’ is light in its own way, but a little bit more upbeat than ‘Serenade to Highland Park. MacDonald once again leads the way here, though Kriebich takes a more active role in this arrangement. Flick meanwhile is ever so slightly more involved in this arrangement, too, but not by much. Kriebich’s light ghost notes and accents work with his solid time keeping on the ride cymbal to give his performance its own appeal. He really becomes just as much the star of this arrangement as MacDonald. There are moments in which Flick gets some of the spotlight, too. He uses those moments to best of his ability, too as he takes on a nice counterpoint to MacDonald’s melody while also enhancing the trio’s rhythm section. The control that all three men display here is so accurate, and at the same time, makes the song so pleasant because of that item. It makes the song in whole another wonderful modern jazz style composition that blurs the line between modern and easy listening jazz in the best way possible. Together with ‘the album’s title track, the two songs collective do more than enough to show what makes them (and the record in whole) so enjoyable. Sure, it would have been nice to have had some background on the songs in order to more fully appreciate each work, but alas, beggars cannot be choosers.
Moving from the originals to the record’s covers, the most notable of the covers (at least to this critic’ is that of Irving Berlin’s timeless tune, ‘They Say It’s Wonderful.’ Originally composed by Berlin for the 1946 musical, Annie Get Your Gun, the song gets a whole new identity in its presentation here. Though, it does still pay some homage to its source material. Instead of the orchestral version originally performed by Ethel Merman and Ray Middleton for the musical’s original 1946 cast recording, MacDonald and company have instead opted to give the song a more updated presentation. Where the original runs just over three minutes in length (three minutes, 37 seconds to be exact), the cover featured here runs more than a minute longer, coming in at four minutes, 50 seconds. Right from the song’s outset here, the trio gives the song an interesting modern swing touch, with all three musicians collectively getting their own moment in the limelight. MacDonald once again leads the way, but Flick and Kriebich each add their own flare to the work to enhance the song even more. It is those added solos from those two that add to the song’s nearly minute and a half extra time. Flick’s solo is a great accent to the mix while MacDonald every now and then kicks back to the original vocal lines and balances that with his own noted modern touch. The fills that Kriebich adds in his solos are just as engaging and entertaining in their own right. Between his work, that of Flick and of MacDonald, the trio’s full presentation here makes this updated take on such a timeless standard unique but unique in a good way. When it is considered along with the album’s other featured covers and its two examined originals, the whole makes the album overall another enjoyable offering from MacDonald and his fellow musicians.
Doug MacDonald’s latest record, Serenade to Highland Park, — his third studio offering this year – is a work that his established audiences and casual jazz fans alike will agree is another enjoyable offering from the veteran jazz guitarist. Every one of its 12 total songs does its own share to make that clear, including each of its two featured originals. Those two songs are unique of one another and from the covers. They do plenty to keep audiences engaged and entertained. In the way of the covers, MacDonald and company’s cover of ‘They Say It’s Wonderful’ is among the most notable of those entries. When it and the two noted originals are considered along with the rest of the record’s featured works, the whole makes Serenade to Highland Park a presentation that will appeal to a wide range of jazz fans.
Serenade to Highland Park is scheduled for release Friday through MacDonald’s own label, DMAC Music. More information on the record is available along with all of MacDonald’s latest news at:
